


Dance of the Dead

by GalaxyGhosty



Category: JackSepticEye (YouTube RPF), Markiplier (YouTube RPF), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dark, Alternate Universe - Mythology, Darkiplier - Freeform, M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-27 09:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6279937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalaxyGhosty/pseuds/GalaxyGhosty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. “He won't hurt me,” Jack replies. “He'll never hurt me. Only you. Only everyone else.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dance of the Dead

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally meant to be a drabble.
> 
> Oops.
> 
> Ideally, this was an idea I had way back in August but never quite got around to writing, due to lack of time. But I posted the sticky note with its title on my wall, and I got really excited today so I went ahead and wrote it up. It turned out a little longer than I was expecting, but hey. Hope you guys don't mind.
> 
> It's tagged "Mythology" because it's kind of a twisted version of Hades & Persephone. Ye. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

~~

_“Here, dancing isn't so hard. Take my hand. Now count with me. One, two, three...one two three...there ya go! Now if you could just...oh.”_

_“Huh?”_

_“Nothing. You just—you hum really nice.”_

_“Thanks. My mom always did say I had a pretty voice.”_

~~

“Highness?” 

Jack slowly turns. He's surprised when he sees Felix standing there—Felix never calls him by his title, unless their in public, and after a quick swipe of the room with his eyes, there's no one there but the two of them.

He almost asks. He almost asks why Felix, his age old friend, is calling him _highness_ without need to, but the sadness in the single, uncovered blue eye already tells him. The answer is there before he even thinks the words. 

Jack bites his lower lip. “I know, Fe. I know.”

~~

_“I'm begging you—Dad, dad, please—don't! Don't—just send him away! It's not his fault! It's mine, it's all mine! Whip me, disown me, denounce me—I don't care! Please just—please just don't kill him!”_

_“This is your punishment for disobeying my orders. I will not allow you to make a fool of this family. I'll see to it that it doesn't happen again.”_

~~

He takes one last forlorn look out the window, the sun setting on the horizon. He can't see it yet, but he knows the moon is there. The full moon lurks somewhere around the castle walls, signaling his departure. Signaling his time to leave.

Signaling to go to his cold, dark prison. 

“He'll be upset,” Felix says, quietly. “If you're late. You know how he is.”

Jack nods. Unconsciously, he raises a hand to the necklace around his neck, twisting the chain in his fingers. It warms underneath the pressure of his skin. He can't bring himself to look at it—but he's already memorized it. It's a simple little trinket. Made with certain, careful hands. Painted with love. He used to keep it hidden, underneath the folds of his cloak or tucked under his belt. But he's since started wearing it in public. 

An eye. He's always watching. Always watching.

Never free from him. 

“I know how he is,” Jack affirms. “I know it better than you.”

He says the last part a little coldly, but for as bad as he feels about it, he doesn't apologize. Felix lets out a quiet breath. “Yeah.” 

“What if I just...” Jack starts. “What if I just don't go?” 

Hesitation. Then, “You know what will happen.”

~~

_Two weeks. It's been two weeks and Jack can't think. He's scarcely eaten. He's barred off his room and despite the persistent banging and demanding that he come out, he hasn't answered._

_MarkMarkMarkMarkMarkMark._

_“Jack,” he hears Felix's muffled voice. “Jack, you need to come out. Please.”_

_He doesn't answer._

_“It's not safe,” Felix mumbles, pounding the door again. “Please. We have to get you and your family to safety.”_

_Safety? This perks Jack's interest. He slides off his bed and hesitates as he approaches his door, wondering if it's a ploy to get him to come out. But would Felix do that to him? “What's going on?”_

_His voice is harsh on his own ears. He hasn't spoken in a while, and it's strange to hear it after so long. “There's no time to explain. Just come on. I don't want to see you hurt. I don't—I don't want you to end up like them.”_

_Them?_

_“Them?” Jack echoes._

_A beat. Then, “Look outside.”_

~~

The landscape is beautiful tonight. His home is beautiful tonight. Jack had never realized how much he loved his home until he hadn't been able to stay there. 

His heart crumbles in his chest. 

_I'm scared_ , he thinks. But he doesn't voice this aloud. He's too afraid that Felix will hear him, will try to comfort him, will try to come to his aid. Even more, he's afraid that he'll fight him, and he can't--

He can't let anyone else get hurt because of him. 

“We need to go,” Felix says. “I don't want him to hurt you.”

“He won't hurt me,” Jack replies. “He'll never hurt me. Only you. Only everyone else.”

~~

_Darkness coils around the entire citadel, and the surrounding city. As far as his eyes can see, murky, black shadows encase houses, farms, and churches, seemingly smothering any source of light. In the distance, he can hear muffled screaming, outcries of fear and pain and torment, and his stomach twists itself into knots._

_Jack runs to the door, throwing it open, not caring anymore about himself but the people below. “What—what the fuck is that?”_

_“I don't know!” Felix shrieks. He looks so much more tired than Jack remembers him. His hair is disheveled and there are dark circles under his eyes, and he looks so much more lifeless than his old friend. “It just—it's been here for days. It only just reached the city. There have been reports of it in the outer sectors, but we thought—we didn't know—we thought we had more time. But we have to go!”_

_“And just leave everyone?” Jack yells. “Fuck that!”_

_“Jack, come on,” Felix grabs his wrist. “I don't have time to fight with you!”_

_“I won't leave!”_

_“Then come to the Great Hall with me! You can take it up with your parents!”_

_The thought of seeing his dad again makes Jack feel ill. But this is a fight he has to win. He lets Felix drag him down three flights of stairs to make it to the Great Hall, where the other members of his family are assembled._

_“We can't just leave!” Jack barks at them, clenching his fists. “We have to find someway to stop this!”_

_“This is magic unlike any which we have ever seen,” his brother, Aidan, shouts back. “We've already been in contact with the highest magicians we know. They're going to find a way, but we, Sean, cannot do a damn thing!”_

_Jack's heart surges with anger, his cheeks hot as he opens his mouth to retaliate. But just as he starts, the doors swing open, and a frazzled looking guard—Ken, Jack thinks, comes running in. “Majesty, there's—there's someone coming. He's being followed by the Dark. I think—I think he may be bringing it.”_

_He whirls around, ready to face this bastard head on, when Felix pulls out his sword, pushing Jack behind him. Ken immediately follows and the two stand together, facing the door._

_All's deathly silent for a single moment._

_And then he appears. The Bringer of the Dark._

~~

Jack tucks his necklace underneath his tunic. He fiddles with the button of his cloak, wondering if he should take it off, but decides against it. He turns to Felix and walks towards him, his boots clacking on the floor. He stalls in the doorway.

“Do you remember,” Jack begins. “When we were kids, we used to imagine that someday I'd be king, and you'd be my royal advisor?”

The question is so out of the blue that Felix actually looks taken aback. But he cracks a smile. “Yeah. But then we determined that I'd be a terrible advisor and you an even worse king.”

“True,” Jack chuckles. But then he frowns. “But it seems now, I'll be one anyway. In a sense.”

Felix's smile falls. “Jack--”

“Shh,” Jack hushes him. “Don't. It'll be easier if you don't.”

He gazes at his old friend's face, before reaching up to touch the covered eye. Or, the lack of one.

Felix doesn't flinch.

~~

_Nobody moves. The Bringer of the Dark is encased in shadows, melting off of him, and behind him stand several apparitions, non-corporeal and atrocious. He almost seems amused by the two people vainly attempting to protect him, and the rest of his family, but says nothing at first._

_“Back up,” Felix orders. “Now.”_

_The being raises his hand. They both go flying._

_Crack. Right into the wall. Jack winces._

_A beat. Then two. Then the being's gaze falls on Jack. He can't see his eyes, but he knows, can feel the gaze on him. It makes him shiver._

_“You will cease this at once!” his father roars. “By order of the crown--!”_

_The being raises his hand again. He clenches his fist, and suddenly, his father stops. He begins to choke._

_Jack immediately realizes what's happening._

_“Stop it!” he demands, as if that will do anything. “Cut it out! Leave him alone! Leave them alone!”_

_But he does. The being drops his hand. His father gasps for air, rubbing at his throat. Jack passes a look between the two, confused by the turn of events._

_“As you wish,” the being says, speaking for the first time. And though distorted, he'd recognize that voice anywhere. “My prince.”_

_The being pulls his hood off, and there, ghastly pale but still very, very the same._

_“Mark,” Jack whispers. “What?”_

~~

“I'm sorry,” he pulls his hand away. “I'm sorry.”

“It's not your fault,” Felix tells him. 

“Can I see it?” he asks, out of morbid curiosity. “Shit. I'm sorry. That's--”

But Felix is already removing the eye patch. He hesitates for a fraction of a section before he pulls it off, and the gaping, disgusting hole is visible.

Jack suppresses a gasp, but can't help the inhale of breath that he takes. 

“It doesn't hurt anymore,” Felix says, as if to soothe him. “Don't apologize.” 

~~

_“My prince,” Mark, or what looks like Mark, bows to him gracefully. “You're as radiant as ever.”_

_Jack can't breathe. All he can do is stare at his former servant, his former lover, in such a mixture of shock and fear and confusion. “Mark...no, no, you can't be—you can't--!”_

_But then he sees it. Against Mark's pale skin, there's a red line, the width of a hair, encircling his neck. It looks like his head is loosely held onto his shoulders. As though—as though--_

_As though he were beheaded at some point._

_He feels like he's going to throw up._

_“You don't look happy,” Mark muses. “I'm sorry, Jack. Have I upset you?”_

_Before Jack can speak, his father steps in again, apparently unfazed by the sort of power Mark has, now. “You despicable half-breed! I knew I was right in killing you! You have no right to speak to my son at all. Remove your taint from this land at once!”_

_Mark's eyes grow dark. His gaze shifts back to the king, and twisting his hand, shadows pull him to his knees, clawing into the fabric of his shirt. “I don't take orders from you, old man. I am king now. King of the Underworld. I have earned my place, and you will recognize me or suffer the consequences.”_

_His voice booms. Jack shivers with an unknown fear._

_Mark smiles, then, sick and malicious. “And yes. About my Dark running about. It's worked pretty nicely, hasn't it? Kills as efficiently as if I had done it myself. Permanent scars. Like this beauty on my neck. That's thanks to you, isn't it?”_

_He chuckles. The king looks livid._

_“But this land was once my home. I can't imagine killing it,” Mark hums. “I shouldn't like to. So I'm here to negotiate a deal with you. Nod if you follow.”_

_The king doesn't move. A shadow grips the back of his father's head and jerks it forward. Mark laughs again. “Fantastic. So here are my terms. You renounce your crown, and give it to your eldest son. You're not fit to wear it, and your eldest son isn't either, but I'm sure he'll be much more agreeable to me in the future. Two, us “half-breeds” as you call me, are to not be killed for their blood.”_

_Mark steps forward. He crouches down in front of the struggling king. “And, one last thing. Nod if you follow.”_

_He has the intelligence to nod this time._

_Mark stands, crossing his arms behind his back. Dark brown eyes settle on Jack again. Somehow, it's uncomfortable. “I want your youngest son, Sean. I want him to be mine. Not all the time, of course, because I understand he has a duty to this country. And I shan't take that away from him because of your transgressions. But I want him. On the next full moon, I will come and collect him for six months. I will return him promptly, or not, by the spring. Do I make myself clear?”_

_No response. Jack feels pinned to his spot. “Mark...”_

_“One moment, my prince,” Mark sings, returning his gaze to the king. “Do I make myself clear, your majesty?”_

_The king makes no effort to answer, and Mark doesn't take kindly to that. Without warning, he strikes out, kicking him in the face, his shadows holding him in place as blood begins to dribble._

_“It's like you want your people to die,” Mark spits. “Or do you love your power that much?”_

_“Stop it!” Jack hisses, and Mark turns to him. “I'll go with you! I'll see to it that everything else you ask is carried out. Just...just...stop. Please, Mark. Let everyone go.”_

_For a moment, his former lover's face is blank, void of all emotion. But then, the shadows grasping his father recede, and the rest of his family crowd to him in obvious concern. Mark slowly approaches him, and Jack attempts to suppress the quiver in him._

_Mark's entire aura feels too cold._

_He extends out his hand, and Jack uses all of his strength to hold out his hand. Mark takes it, kissing his knuckles gently. His lips are too unfamiliar._

_But--_

_A flash of blond hair. A glint of silver. Mark whirls instantly and the sound following haunts Jack for the nights to come._

_Felix screams, and across the room, he sees blood, and then an eye._

_“That was rude,” Mark comments._

~~

“Don't look so sad,” Jack tells Felix, as they begin to walk. Mark will arrive soon. “I'll be back in six months.”

“But that's six months in hell, with _him_ ,” Felix stresses, as if saying his name will prematurely summon him. “I don't want you to go through that.”

Jack shrugs. “He...I loved him once. Maybe it won't be so bad.”

“It's not the same person,” Felix mumbles. “He's not the same anymore.” 

Boy, does Jack know it. But he doesn't answer as he steps onto the landing of the stairs, his whole being trembling. He turns around and envelops Felix in a hug, gripping him tight. 

“I'll be okay,” he says, though whether it's to himself or Felix, he can't tell. “I'll be back in six months, and everything will be okay.” 

He pulls away. “Stay here. I'm afraid he'll take that other eye if you're with me.”

Felix gives him the best grin he can as he turns the stairs and heads into the corridor.

~~

It doesn't take long for night to fall. Jack inspects his fingers, taking in the surprising callouses of them for a prince when he feels it. That familiar, yet unfamiliar, cool air. He licks his lips.

“I hate you,” he says, surprising himself. But what's more surprising is that he means it. “I hope you know that.”

Mark wraps his arms around him from behind, kissing his neck gently. It's cold. Too cold. It's nerve-wracking. “You don't mean that.”

“I do,” Jack insists, turning in his arms. But Mark doesn't let go. “You're not Mark.”

“But I am,” Mark replies. “I did this for you, Jack. I fought death for you. I came back to you, like I promised I would, didn't I?” 

Jack closes his eyes, shaking his head. “You're not the man I love. You're a cold, heartless murderer who killed hundreds of innocent people just to get what he wants--!”

“For you!” Mark hisses. “I did this for you! I became the King of Hell so I could be with you! It was two grueling weeks of anguish and torment, just so I could claw my way back to you!” 

Mark cups his cheeks, kissing him fervently, pleading. For a second, Jack pretends it's his Mark, and he's in one of the alcoves where they used to share kisses in secret. For a moment, he lets himself believe.

“I love you,” Mark whispers against his lips. He sounds like he means it. “Please, Sean. _Please_.”

Without waiting for an answer, Mark kisses him again, pulling him close, and Jack feels like he's being consumed, somehow. Like he's being swallowed whole, drowning in something both unpleasant and pleasant all at once. It's Mark and it's not and he's disgusted with himself but he can't help the feelings in his heart. 

“Don't call me Sean,” Jack manages, through the lump in his throat. “Just don't.”

He can't tell what he means by that. Mark kisses his cheek, then along his jawline, before his lips again.

“Jack,” he breathes. Like a melody. Like the tune they used to dance to in his room, when they were alone. “ _Jack_.”

His willpower leaves him.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated. Come talk to me! I'm on Tumblr at galaxyghosty.tumblr.com!


End file.
